The Sea Battles of Summerleaze Lake
Most of this article is taken from reports leaked by the Harry Corporation Ministry of Military Action - little is known of any stratagem written by either TC Studios or the Paullian Revolutionary Army. The Sea Battles of Summerleaze Lake were predominantly naval conflicts between the forces of the Harry Corporation and the Paullian Revolutionary Army, fighting for TC Studios under the agreements listed in their alliance. Harry Corporation forces, with the aid of the HBCP Army led by Corporation Naval Marshall Russell, decisively defeated the Revolutionary Army, removing both them and the TC Studios forces from the region within 25 miles of the lake. They also captured a thermonuclear missile silo on the island in the centre of the lake. This is a fictional battle; it did not take place. Prelude Intelligence agents from the Harry Corporation Ministry of Military Action returned to High Command with details of a powerful missile silo in the centre of Summerleaze Lake under the control of TC Studios and the administration of the Paullian Revolutionary Army as a result of their defensive pact. Recognising that TC Studios were already taken up with fighting on the Inboxian front against rapidly approaching Lawsonian forces, the Corporation elected to launch a full-on attack of the lake. Intelligence reports also indicate that, in advance of the battle, Paullian forces "bought out" members of the local Independent Resistance Army in order to bolster their comparatively small fleet. This, while a good idea in theory, turned out to be less so in practice; the resistance was poorly trained, few of their boats were seaworthy and they knew little of devising an actual stratagem. The preliminary attack As fast as they could, the Corporation mobilised their troops and launched their attack. There was, however, only one way in and out of the lake - through the main gate. All of the other walls were electrified, jury rigged by the Paullians. This meant that the main gate became a bottleneck - with a limited air force, the Corporation could not air drop troops at a fast enough speed. However, the subsequent provision of tanks made the transport of naval forces into the lake easier. Until that time, Corporation troops were badly beaten back by the Paullian forces and occasional artillery fire from the central missile silo. However, when the tank deportation arrived, the Corporation managed to break into the complex and launch their fleets. The battle itself As soon as the Corporation launched their fleets, the operation began in earnest. There were two objectives that the naval troops in that region were set out to achieve: #To gain control of the central missile silo with a minimum of civilian and unarmed enemy deaths, #To recover High Commander Franklin from the TCS Terminus Est, a vessel captained by Commander Paull of the Paullian Revolutionary Army. However, the slightly walled in nature of the island meant that the battles needed to be fought on three fronts in the lake; the north, the east and the west, as the south had already been captured by Corporation infantry. The North In the north, noticing the greater numbers of Corporation naval units, the Terminus Est fled around the back of enemy lines and flanked the front of the Corporation fleet. The battle itself was of little consequence - the Corporation landed on the north side of the missile silo with low resistance - what was more important was capturing the Terminus Est and completing the second objective. Artillery fire on the port bow of the HC(S)³ Nexus caused the Terminus Est to be able to flee approximately 200 metres down a small exit river to a nearby fortified reservoir; however, a lucky missile drop from a Corporation plane meant that the Terminus Est was unable to reach their destination, as they began taking on thousands of litres of water. Both Paull and Franklin were recovered. The East In the east, the Corporation naval forces attempted, with great success, to rotate around the side of the island and attack the silo from the west. Considering the woodland terrain of the west side of the silo, the Paullian forces felt safe to underprotect this area - a mistake which would prove to cost them dearly. The West In the west, the Corporation's goal was the reverse of it's goal in the east - to rotate around and attack the silo from the east. This proved more difficult that the attack in the east - Paullian fleets were surrounding that side and occasional artillery fire made advancement difficult. However, the HC(S)³ Titan's captain, Commander Mitchell, decided to withdraw their troops, or rather, to pretend they were withdrawing their troops in a gambit much like that from the Battle of Salamis. It paid off; most of the Paullian and Independent forces followed, enabling hidden fleets to flank the back line of the Paullian ships and attack from behind. This resulted in a catastrophic loss of Paullian fleets and minor damage to the Corporation - however, this attack was successful. Island landings The HC(S)³ Nexus and Titan, along with the other 198 boats in the fleet, landed on the separate sides of the island. The infantry on board then stepped out onto the beach and began the assault. Artillery fire destroyed 16 HC(S)³ vessels during this time. The infantry met with little armed resistance, most of the Paullian troops having been lost at sea as their boats were sunk. The HBCP/Corporation troops stormed the control room and captured the technicians inside. They then broadcasted news of their victory to the missile bases in a 25-mile radius of the lake, ending the sea battles and beginning the occupation of the lake by Harry Corporation garrisons. Aftermath After capturing the lake, the sixteen missile bases owned by TC Studios and the Paullian Revolutionary Army surrendered after the Harry Corporation Field Marshall Gowland broadcasted the acquisition of thermonuclear weapons at the end of the battle. The troops inside these bases then evacuated immediately, causing Harry Corporation to have control of the region. Paull subsequently escaped from his holding cell after incapacitating his guards and stealing a lifeboat. He was later reprimanded by King Clarke's council for utterly failing to defend the lake and the pact between the Revolutionary Army and TC Studios came to an end. This was followed up by numerous TC raids on Paullian bases culminating in the Attack on Beinn Dearg, the mountain holding the main base of the Paullian Revolutionary Cabinet, the political body controlling the Paullian army. According to Corporation statisticians, the Corporation gained control of eight thermonuclear weapons, though the silo contains no means of manufacturing them - it is presumed, therefore, that there was at some time a route by which the weapons came in. An investigation into this is ongoing. Category:Conflicts